Take a photo of a barcode or cover
lisapas 's review for:
Next To Heaven
by James Frey
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a long spiel from me - feel free to skip my yammering if you’d like. 🤓
I will come right out and let you know that this is mostly a book about horrible wealthy people who are unfaithful in their relationships and disregard anyone else as important and worth respect. There are some good people here, but if you’re not interested in the dark side of wealth, skip this one. Dark psychology fascinates me, but it’s absolutely not for everyone. There are plenty of better books to read that hold more value.
Apparently there’s a ton of controversy surrounding this book - yeah, I remember when Frey and Oprah had their conflict. I haven’t read that book; this is my first time reading Frey.
Written by AI? I don’t know. Frey admits to using ChatGPT for a search engine and told Vanity Fair that he’s fine having AI help him sound funnier.
There are a lot of negative reviews, and I appear to be an outlier. I picked up this novel specifically because I enjoy dark suburbia stories - I’m fascinated by the idea of fancy houses and families and the dark crap they hide behind closed doors. That’s precisely what this is. There’s a murder mystery, but this book isn’t about that murder; it’s no more than a plot point.
This reads like satire to me. In fact, I authentically laughed out loud when I saw that it’s inspired somewhat by writers like Bret Easton Ellis. 100% on the nose. It absolutely reads like Ellis, so it’s right up my alley.
Frey told Vanity Fair, “I’m going to write a series of dirty, funny murder mysteries about terrible rich people. About how money distorts people’s perceptions and it distorts everything. I think money is the most powerful, most addictive, and most destructive drug on the planet.” If you’ve read Ellis, you know how spot-on that comment is for his books, too. Ellis is a better writer, though; I will say that. Frey needs to recognize that 90% of the time he uses “who,” he should be using “whom.”
Is he selling a story? Absolutely. This isn’t some mastercraft text someone should elevate as high literature - it’s just as trashy as any other dark suburbia story. There are horrible people in these pages and there are good people in these pages. The structure is atypical; the chapters about spilling tea are hilarious and recognizable. People with disgusting levels of wealth are often obnoxious and selfish, and that’s precisely what these characters reflect.
I liked it. I think if it were written by any other author, there wouldn’t be so much of a stink about it.
I will come right out and let you know that this is mostly a book about horrible wealthy people who are unfaithful in their relationships and disregard anyone else as important and worth respect. There are some good people here, but if you’re not interested in the dark side of wealth, skip this one. Dark psychology fascinates me, but it’s absolutely not for everyone. There are plenty of better books to read that hold more value.
Apparently there’s a ton of controversy surrounding this book - yeah, I remember when Frey and Oprah had their conflict. I haven’t read that book; this is my first time reading Frey.
Written by AI? I don’t know. Frey admits to using ChatGPT for a search engine and told Vanity Fair that he’s fine having AI help him sound funnier.
There are a lot of negative reviews, and I appear to be an outlier. I picked up this novel specifically because I enjoy dark suburbia stories - I’m fascinated by the idea of fancy houses and families and the dark crap they hide behind closed doors. That’s precisely what this is. There’s a murder mystery, but this book isn’t about that murder; it’s no more than a plot point.
This reads like satire to me. In fact, I authentically laughed out loud when I saw that it’s inspired somewhat by writers like Bret Easton Ellis. 100% on the nose. It absolutely reads like Ellis, so it’s right up my alley.
Frey told Vanity Fair, “I’m going to write a series of dirty, funny murder mysteries about terrible rich people. About how money distorts people’s perceptions and it distorts everything. I think money is the most powerful, most addictive, and most destructive drug on the planet.” If you’ve read Ellis, you know how spot-on that comment is for his books, too. Ellis is a better writer, though; I will say that. Frey needs to recognize that 90% of the time he uses “who,” he should be using “whom.”
Is he selling a story? Absolutely. This isn’t some mastercraft text someone should elevate as high literature - it’s just as trashy as any other dark suburbia story. There are horrible people in these pages and there are good people in these pages. The structure is atypical; the chapters about spilling tea are hilarious and recognizable. People with disgusting levels of wealth are often obnoxious and selfish, and that’s precisely what these characters reflect.
I liked it. I think if it were written by any other author, there wouldn’t be so much of a stink about it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault